1. Field of the Invention
Mascara is a major cosmetic product, of significant importance to the cosmetic industry. Mascara is utilized to enhance female beauty by coating eyelashes and, in some cases, eyebrows to make them more attractive by providing color thereto. Although this product has obviously attained commercial acceptance, mascara compositions have been criticized by many users. The complaints raised against the use of mascara range from heavy feel, heavy coating and smudging of eyelashes to difficulty of removal from the delicate eye area, potential for loss and even loss of eyelash hairs.
Those skilled in the art are aware that the basis for these criticisms lie in the inclusion of high concentration of color pigments, waxes, heavy oils, plasticizers, heavy film-formers and the like in mascara compositions. These ingredients are essential in prior art mascara compositions in that they disperse the pigments which are included therein to provide color.
The inclusion, in prior art mascara compositions, of significant concentration of pigment is in part caused by the aforementioned inclusion of waxes, heavy oils, plasticizers and heavy film formers. These ingredients have a tendency to render the mascara composition pale or light in color. That is, the heavy concentration of waxes, oils and the like make necessary the loading of high concentrations of pigment to provide the necessary color. This heavy loading of pigment sometimes results in smudging of the composition.
To overcome this recognized problem in the art, producers have recently introduced so-called "no-color" mascara compositions. These compositions overcome the problems associated with waxes, heavy oils, heavy film formers, plasticizers and the like by the simple expedient of not including them in the composition. They are able to accomplish this in that they do not include pigments in the mascara. The absence of pigments, of course, permits the non-inclusion of waxes, heavy oils, heavy film formers, plasticizers and the like in that these components are employed in prior art mascara compositions.
Although this advance in the art overcomes the problems associated with the presence of high concentrations of waxes, oils and the like, this product has also been criticized by users. That criticism resides in the fact that the absence of pigment reduces the attractiveness of utilizing a mascara for those users who have light colored lashes. In these cases, the absence of color in these mascaras reduces the beauty enhancement provided by the product.
Obviously, there exists a need in the art to develop a mascara composition which does not include waxes, heavy oils, heavy film formers, plasticizers and the like without forfeiting the attractive features of prior art mascara compositions, that is, providing bright color highlights to the eyelashes.
2. Background of the Prior Art
The prior art includes a plurality of mascara composition products which are advertised as "clear mascaras." These mascara compositions are characterized by the absence of heavy oils, waxes and other ingredients which have a heavy and sticky effect on the eyelashes. However, while these products are lightweight and non-sticky, they do not provide color to the eyelashes upon which they are applied. The reason for this is that almost all of them do not include sufficient pigment concentration to impart color to eyelashes. At most, such products are colored to the extent that they color the composition in the container in which the mascara composition is sold. That is, the concentration of pigment in this mascara composition is so small that it is subject to the same objections lodged against pigment-free mascara compositions, i.e., the absence of color reduces its beauty enhancement effect compared to the traditional mascara compositions of the prior art.
The mascara compositions described in the prior art do not include any teachings directed to the use of a hydrophobic coated pigment. There are, however, disclosures in the prior art directed to a formation of hydrophobic pigments useful in other cosmetic applications. One such teaching is U.S. Pat. No. 4,490,179 to Bernhard which sets forth a process for rendering nacreous pigments hydrophobic by coating these pigments with an aqueous suspension of a chromium (III) or aluminum (III) hydroxide or silicate followed by treatment of the coated pigment with a solution of a hydrocarbon carboxylic acid having more than four carbon atoms per carboxyl group. Nacreous pigments are pigments formed from mica platelets coated with metal oxides. These pigments are commonly employed in such cosmetic compositions as nail lacquers, lipsticks and powders.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,074 to Miyoshi et al. describes the coating of pigments or extender pigment surfaces with hydrogenated lecithin or the reaction product of hydrogenated lecithin and a water-soluble metal salt. These coated pigments are utilized in make-up cosmetics such as powder foundation, rouge and eyeshadow compositions. The lecithin coating of the pigments used in these make-up cosmetics are said to improve many of the properties of these products Cosmetic compositions which include lecithin coated pigments are said to be more water repellant. Furthermore, they spread easily in that they are smooth, having a moisturizing effect on the skin.
Although the two above-recited references describe the use of hydrophobic pigments in cosmetic applications, neither of them suggest the use of a hydrophobic pigment in a mascara composition nor do they teach a mascara composition having the desirable properties noted above.